


The Shadows We Leave Behind (Come Back to Haunt Us in The End)

by Ciel_Bleu



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: BAMF Spencer Reid, Behavioral Analysis Unit (Criminal Minds), Bisexual Spencer Reid, CIA, Diana Reid (Criminal Minds) - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Gun Violence, Guns, I saw an underwhelming amount of CIA Spencer content and decided to provide, M/M, No beta we die like Maeve, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sorry Not Sorry, Spencer Reid is a Little Shit, Spencer Reid joins the BAU at 25 years old, Spencer and Emily have met before the BAU, Spies & Secret Agents, Tags May Change, Undercover, William Reid Being an Asshole, Young Spencer Reid, Young Spencer Reid joins the CIA because reasons, not 22
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:27:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29317098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ciel_Bleu/pseuds/Ciel_Bleu
Summary: A young, 18-year-old Spencer Reid struggling to keep up with his Ph.D. studies and pay for his mother's care gets an offer that seems almost too good to be true, but is there really a choice in the end? The FBI is years away, and he needs help now."It's just a job," and for the first few years, it had been. He began to wonder, years later, when exactly did he loose himself to that one simple job?I saw an underwhelming amount of Spencer Reid CIA agent content and decided to provide, (this will most definitely not be canon-compliant).DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters (other than my OCs), all credit goes to the creators of Criminal Minds.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner & Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan & Spencer Reid, Emily Prentiss & Spencer Reid, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau & Spencer Reid, Penelope Garcia & Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid & David Rossi, Spencer Reid & Original Character(s), The BAU Team & Original Character(s), The BAU Team & Spencer Reid
Comments: 30
Kudos: 128





	1. Down The Rabbit Hole

**Author's Note:**

> It was all he could do to keep himself from joining really, not being old enough to join the Academy, and with no job security to pay for his mother's care, who was he to say no? 
> 
> Down the Rabbit Hole, we go.

He stared at the broken black phone screen in front of him, seemingly looking past it into a universe far beyond his own.

A universe in which he wasn’t alone, abandoned, by choice, or by sickness, left to struggle with so much more than an 18-year-old ever should. A place where he would come home for the holidays, only to be embraced by the welcoming arms of his parents, staring at him with pure unadulterated joy and love. Christmases filled with homemade cookies, birthdays spent with picnics in the park, and love, so much love. But that wasn’t his life, never was, never would be.

With no one to blame but circumstance, he shook himself off the daydream of a promised neverland and made his way to class. Trying very hard not to think about the call he’d just had,

“I’m sorry Spencer, she’s just not up for visitors right now. I’ll hold on to your letters and pass them on once she’s settled.”

Taking a deep breath before answering, he willed the array of emotions suddenly coursing through him to go away, boxed them up to be re-evaluated at a later date. Now was not the time for tears.

“Okay, I’ll send another one soon.”

He waited to hear the doctor’s reply before hanging up, mind numb to the constant chattering going on around him from other students making their way to class. The rest of the day passed by in a blur of lectures, and note-taking. He didn’t really need to take any notes, he’d memorized the textbooks for all his classes as soon as he got ahold of them and knew few, if any, professors ever strayed from their assigned books; but he just needed something to do with his hands to keep himself from spiraling into his mind’s abyss.

After lectures came the painstaking task of looking for a job, he'd need to find a position by the end of the month if he wanted to be able to afford his mother's care at Bennington, her disability checks only covered so much and the premium care she's receiving was way above the amount that came in every month but worth it in the end, this was his mom, his whole world; moving her to a lesser facility wasn't an option. Never would be.

That's when he got the email. It seemed too good to be true, but he was desperate, anything that might bring about a steady income would work for him at that moment. Mind made up, he replied.

Two weeks later had him sitting down for coffee with a man named Michael Rivers, and a whole new life in front of him. It seemed his IQ and overall academic record combined with Jason Gideon’s interest in his potential as an agent had put him on the radar of multiple agencies, the Central Intelligence Agency was one of them. 

Unlike the FBI, the CIA had no problems with recruiting younger candidates. He understood at once that what would be required of him would take him to his limits, physically, mentally, he’d come out of this whole experience a different person, but honestly, he was okay with that, as long as they covered all expenses his mother may have even if he died on the field, he was willing to do anything. 

Desperation is a powerful thing, Michael knew this and used it to gain Spencer's trust, it wasn't hard to do with a barely legal kid whose only concern was the safety of his last remaining family member. He'd played this song and dance with many other desperate, promising candidates, but even he had to admit, Spencer was unique in most aspects and that only made Michael that much more determined to get him in. He would be an excellent asset. 

They sat down and discussed what would be asked of Spencer in detail, by the end of the meeting it was all Spencer could do to keep himself from joining really, not being old enough to join the Academy, and with no job security to pay for his mother's care, who was he to say no? 

Down the Rabbit Hole, we go. 


	2. La Seine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He couldn’t help but be drawn like a moth to a flame. Those candlelight dinners all across Paris, the long walks across the town at night; feeling the buzz of the ancient city coming to life to accommodate the ever-growing youth on the streets. The museums, the tours around Versailles, the whispered Mon Coeur’s in the dim, morning light, it all became too much to ignore.

Gerard Moreau. 

His first target, he remembered that mission like it was yesterday. 

Of course, with his eidetic memory, it was near impossible to forget any of them but people always say, you never forget your first. 

It was in theory, a clean-cut mission, get in, get close, shoot to kill if necessary, then disappear in a tragic accident (a hit and run, a plane crash, a house fire). A ghost. No questions asked, this was what he trained for during those 3 years.

But still, the taking of a human life weighed heavily on his mind for some time afterward, it didn’t matter that Gerard was planning on killing thousands, had already killed more people during his years as the head of the terrorist group known as La Seine than most serial killers the B.A.U. caught did. It was still a life, and for Spencer, or, Alexandre as he was known back then, Gerard was more than just a target. He was, in a sense, his first love. 

It took a year into the mission for Alexandre to realize he’d fallen for the man. Gerard was confident, charismatic, a true sociopath if he’d ever seen one. And wasn’t that ironic? Alexandre knew how dangerous Gerard was, knew that the moment he’d gathered the intel needed he would be ending Gerard’s life because he was certain, this one wouldn’t be serving time in prison. 

But still, he couldn’t help but be drawn like a moth to a flame. Those candlelight dinners all across Paris, the long walks across the town at night; feeling the buzz of the ancient city coming to life to accommodate the ever-growing youth on the streets. The museums, the tours around Versailles, the whispered _Mon Coeur_ ’s in the dim, morning light, it all became too much to ignore. 

It didn’t matter in the end, his feelings never did. They couldn’t matter, he had a job to do, he couldn’t afford the distraction. He knew he was an asset to Gerard, a toy to use and discard when bored. And so, he pushed aside the hurt he knew would come, the fear of losing himself to love on his very first task as an agent, of losing sight of why he was here and got to work. 

On the 18th month, Gerard was dead, and Reid had claimed his first human life. 

The first of many, too many to count, he knew them all by heart, their names, their ranks, why they had to die, but he’d always been too afraid to count because then he would be admitting to himself that he was a soldier, a machine. And somehow, that thought hurt more than anything else he had ever done as an undercover agent. 

The next day Alexandre had disappeared, jumped off la Seine police said, couldn't handle the death of his _fianc_ _é_ of only one month. No body was ever recovered. 

A note was found in their room;

_" Je suis désolé, Je t'aime."_

A month after that, Spencer had a new mission. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On a roll here! 
> 
> Posting a few of my finished drafts now that I've got time between classes. 
> 
> Thoughts? (Yes I made Spencer Bi because reasons okay!)


	3. Lauren Reynolds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the end, though, this was her mission, and they both knew it.  
> Doyle was hers for the taking, but Reid would be there to make sure no complications arose.

She was good. 

A good liar, a good profiler, it was easy to tell. To anyone else, Lauren was captain Doyle’s true love. But Spencer, _Matthew_ , knew. He’d been living this life long enough to know that this was an agent, no doubt a socialite as a child; but with a dangerous side. And she’d succeeded where Matthew failed, she’d gained Doyle’s trust. 

A month after Lauren’s sudden entrance into the IRA’s inner circle, Matthew had gathered enough information on her to know Interpol was good at recognizing talent in its agents. He was aware she’d suspected him as well, ran a background check he’d gotten an alert for immediately. 

And so, they talked. 

“I didn’t realize Bridget had a boyfriend, she didn’t mention anyone when we met.” 

She raised one perfectly styled eyebrow at him.

He chuckled, placed his cup of dark black coffee to his lips, and took a long sip. 

“We’re just having a little bit of fun, Bridget and I. She believes in the cause, and so do I, it works.” 

He shrugged casually, tone as natural as one would use to describe the weather. Thick sunglasses reflecting the sun rays pouring in from the cafe window. 

It was a warm Spring day, filled with the songs of birds, and happy children running around on the streets. Bridget and Ian were both at a private meeting; as close as they both might be with their lovers, they still weren’t close enough to get access to everything. Patience was key.

They sized each other up for a few minutes. Carefully trying to measure out how much they knew about the other, this was a dangerous game they were playing, after all, they needed to know who to trust.

Matthew had no problems trusting Lauren, her record was impressive. 

Lauren too had no problems trusting Matthew to do what needed to be done; true, they work in different worlds, played by different rules. But he was efficient, cold, and calculating, an elite agent. He’d never failed yet. 

In the end, though, this was her mission, and they both knew it. She didn’t need to know his target wasn’t on Doyle but on illegal weapon trade deals made by the IRA that sparked interest in Washington after some of them were found in the hands of Al-Qaeda terrorists. Doyle was hers for the taking, but Reid would be there to make sure no complications arose.

And that’s how they worked; careful to not step on each other’s toes. They each had a job to do, a role to play, and they played it well. When the time came to arrest Ian Doyle, Bridget Doyle had disappeared. 

Her body was never recovered, and the US government had been able to intercept three separate illegal weapon shipments bound towards the Middle East. 

Emily was left wondering if she’d ever see Matthew again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Ian didn’t have any family other than Declan (IRA and Al-Qaeda inaccuracies notwithstanding) but I wanted to focus more on how Spencer and Emily’s relationship might be different if they knew each other back then. Which in turn, when we get to the BAU & Spencer part of this story, will make everything that happened with Emily a bit different.


	4. An Open Door

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Thank you both, you’ll receive a call when the decision is made.” 
> 
> And that’s that.

Jason Gideon. 

The first time he heard that name, he’d been taking a basic criminology course for fun. Gideon’s interest sparked the flame of what would later become a life full of secrets and lies, and he’s not quite sure what to think about it all when he gets the call. 

It had been 7 years, 2 days, and 25 minutes since he joined the Central Intelligence Agency, by now this life was all he knew. He’d become exactly what he feared at first, a perfect asset, a soldier, a machine. He didn’t know who Spencer Reid was anymore, even his letters to his mom seemed forced and uncharacteristically void of emotion. She’d asked him on their last phone call months ago when he’d be coming to visit, that it’d been too long, and all he could say was he’d try to make it for the holidays. It had been 7 years since he’d tried to make it for the holidays. 

This is exactly why when Jason called he was left not knowing what to do. 

An opening, at the BAU, made open specifically for him he was sure. He was well aware one of their agents had left, but there was a list of applicants already waiting to be interviewed. Like a dog with a bone, Gideon had never let Spencer go. He imagined that 7 years was a long enough time for his superiors to consider letting him switch teams, but he wasn’t quite sure. It couldn’t possibly be that easy. 

Walking into the building he felt an odd sense of calmness and total awareness surround him. He knew whether he left or stayed he’d still be left playing a role, a new identity or his old one remained to be seen. 

He was greeted by the Director himself, which was not at all entirely surprising, Spencer knew he’d handled some very delicate code-word Classified missions. They had to make sure those missions stayed that way. 

“Agent,”

He nodded back at him. 

“Sir,” 

“Follow me please.” 

They arrived at one of the most secure offices he’d ever seen, reinforced glass on all windows, doors with security locks and strict personnel access, and sitting right there in one of the chairs, as comfortable as one would be on their own living room couch, waiting for their arrival was Jason Gideon. 

“I believe you two have already met. Please, have a seat Agent.” 

Voice hard as steel, exuding power and control, typical alpha male behaviour his mind supplied, but this was most certainly not the time to profile the Director of the CIA. 

Reid did as ordered and sat down right next to Gideon, waiting patiently for the Director to take a seat behind the massive mahogany desk. 

He leveled both of them with a look that left no doubt in his mind, Gideon had pushed very hard for this to happen. Hard enough to get the man sitting across from them involved. Those cold grey eyes settled on Gideon first and they narrowed down considerably. 

“Agent Gideon, it’s come to my attention that the BAU is perfectly capable to continue performing up to standard without the integration of a new team member.”  _ This is not a game. Why do you want him?  _

Out of the corner of his eye, Reid could see, instinctively, how Agent Gideon sat up a bit straighter on his seat, determined to face the Director head on then. Well, this was interesting. 

“While that may be true for the moment Sir, we’ve suffered a major loss with Agent  Greenaway ’s departure and would like to fill in that hole as soon as possible. Our Section Chief and I both agree that having Dr. Reid on our team will be a great benefit in the long run and allow us to complete cases quickly and efficiently.”

There’s silence in the room as the answer is being considered. For his part, Reid isn’t entirely sure why he’s even entertaining the idea of joining the BAU, it’s clear where his talent lies, they’re not going to let him go without a fight. 

He’s surprised when the attention in the room gets redirected to him.

“Agent, what would you prefer?”  _ Tread carefully, think before you speak.  _

He looks at the Director dead in the eyes, 

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t interested in the BAU’s offer, however, whatever decision is made I’ll stand by it, Sir.” 

He feels more than sees Jason’s head turn to look at him with what he can only describe as a look of shock, masked into his perfectly bland facial expression. 

_ He thinks he’s saving you.  _

With a nod of his head, the Director stands up and heads for the door.  _ Meeting over then.  _

“Thank you both, you’ll receive a call when the decision is made.” 

And that’s that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Elle & Reid friendship on this one!   
> I'm sad about it too, but I think you'll like how Emily gets in later on.   
> And yes, Jason really does think he's saving Reid from a life he doesn't want,   
> but what he doesn't understand is that our baby genius is perfectly capable of getting out of it on his own; if he chose to.   
> See you soon my loves!


	5. The Consultant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They’re good, he has to be better.

His suspicions are proven correct two days after the meeting with the Director. 

He’s now a consultant for the FBI, more specifically the BAU. This is not a transfer, not yet anyway but he guesses it has a lot more to do with getting his paperwork ready and actually figuring out who will replace him at the Agency than anything else. 

_ And not giving in to Agent Gideon’s demands.  _

He’s silently grateful for the opportunity to work with the BAU in a temporary capacity since he’s got to get used to working with a team once again. Reid’s been a solo act ever since his training was over, and he knew from Gideon how much they relied on a solid team dynamic to pull through. 

They were definitely going to test his boundaries. 

As is customary for him, he gets all of their files and gets to work on a preliminary profile of his soon-to-be  _ team-mates. _ This is his ritual before any mission, and yes, he’s aware this isn’t a mission, he’s not here to infiltrate a criminal organization and dispose of the vipers, he’s here to work closely with presumably law-abiding federal agents. 

But still, old habits die hard and research is where his strength lies. 

He starts with the top and goes down from there. 

_ Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner - Unit Chief  _

_ Senior Supervisory Special Agent Jason Gideon  _

_ Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan  _

_ Media Liaison Jeniffer Jeraeu  _

_ Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia  _

Out of all their files, he’s the most intrigued by Garcia and wonders what kind of hacker lets themselves be caught by the FBI. How bad does your life have to be to willingly hack into national databases and purposefully leave breadcrumbs to follow? 

Her skill is off the charts, and it makes Reid even more certain than before, he can’t let his guard down with these people. They can’t know who he really is, even if apparently Gideon has a pretty good idea. 

_ And isn’t that just a time bomb ready to go off any second.  _

It’s not just his life that would be at risk if they ever did figure it out. He’s confident he can fake it pretty well, but he’s also aware he’s never had to play pretend in a room full of profilers before. 

They’re good, he has to be better. 

They gave him till the end of the week to prepare, come Monday, he’ll be joining his new team, come Monday he’ll be Dr. Spencer Reid once more. 

Now to figure who exactly that is. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little Interlude before meeting the team!   
> Our baby genius is almost there!!!   
> What POV are you most interested in reading for the first impressions?   
> I'm debating between Jason, Reid, and Hotch myself but I'm curious, what do you guys think?


	6. A New Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aaron was left with an unexplainable lump in his chest, just who was it that had joined his team?

They needed a new agent and the brass gave them a white-collar crime specialist. 

A consultant, who nearly failed all of the physical exams. An agent who’d never seen a day in the field. True, he was Gideon’s protegee, had an impressive level of intelligence that was nearly unheard of, but Aaron failed to see how this was a viable solution. They needed a seasoned agent, they didn’t have time to train someone new. Someone who might be gone in a few months and prove to be of no long-term help at all. 

A knock on his office door brought him out of his reverie. 

“Come in,” 

Morgan raised a brow at him. 

“Well, aren’t you stressed. Want to tell me what's going on?” 

He gave an internal sigh, of course, he noticed. 

“We’re getting a consultant.” And here he paused and started to read through Dr. Spencer Reid’s file once more. 

“And?” Morgan prompted 

“A 25 five-year-old agent, white-collar crime specialist.” 

That’s all it took for Morgan to take a seat on the chair right in front of him with a sigh of his own. He looked over at Hotch for a moment, carefully deciding how to approach the subject, it was clear Hotch was already stressed out over it.

He decided to proceed with the least aggressive line of questioning he could find. 

“For how long?” 

Hotch looked up at Morgan then, apprehension written all over his face. 

“A couple of months at least. He’ll be starting today.” 

He started collecting the files on his desk before standing up. 

“He was Gideon’s protegee for a while in college, they lost touch somewhere along the lines. According to his file, he has an IQ of 187 and three doctorates in Mathematics, Chemistry, and Engineering.”

Morgan narrowed his eyes at him, clearly trying to hide his surprise. 

“But?” 

Aaron sighed once more, 

“The types of crimes he dealt with before are vastly different from the ones we face every day. I might be worried it’ll prove to be difficult for him to keep up. He's also never been on the field before.”

Before Morgan could reply, a knock startled them both coming from his closed office door. Both men turned around to face it as Aaron called out.

“Come in,” 

In walked Jason followed by a young man that looked to be in his early 20s dressed in some brown slacks, beat-up black Converse sneakers, a white button-down shirt with a tie, and a forest green sweater vest. 

“Oh good, you’re both here. Spencer, these are Agents Morgan and Hotchner.” 

The kid,  _ Agent Reid _ , did a little nervous wave, casting his eyes down submissively before looking up at Hotch and nodding his head. 

A small "Hello," emanating from his mouth.

Morgan eyed the kid skeptically before breaking out into a grin. 

“Welcome to the team Kid,” he turned back to face Aaron, “I think JJ was looking through a possible case, I’m gonna go take a look with her.” 

Aaron nodded and watched as Morgan left the office. He turned his attention back to Spencer and Gideon. 

“Welcome to the BAU, have you met the rest of the team?” 

The way Spencer was looking at him made the hairs in the back of his neck stand up. He couldn’t quite explain it, but this kid right here suddenly looked years older, an air of experience shone through his eyes right then, and if Aaron didn’t know any better, he might say Spencer Reid was dangerous. 

“Oh no, Sir, we only just got in but I’m excited to get started.” 

Quick as lightning, the look was gone and replaced with the shy boy stare he’d been sporting since he walked into Aaron's office. 

“Glad to have you here Spencer, let me know if you need anything.” He nodded his head in a clear sign of dismissal and watched as Spencer looked over at Gideon briefly before making his way out of the office and down to the bullpen. 

Gideon leveled him with a look.

“Listen, Aaron, there’s more to Spencer than what you’re seeing right now. Just, don’t be surprised by what you learn later on.” 

He raised both eyebrows in surprise at Gideon, 

“And what will I learn Jason?” 

Gideon gave him one of his infuriating blank smiles and shrugged his shoulders. 

“Just that, he’s a good agent. I’m gonna go get him settled on his desk.” 

And with that, he was gone. 

Aaron was left with an unexplainable lump in his chest, just who was it that had joined his team?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hotch's POV folks!   
> I really debated on this but I think a new angle might be interesting at this first meeting.  
> Next chapter we're back to Spencer's pov, his impressions of the whole team and everything,   
> It won't be too long before Emily joins in I don't think, and then the party can really get started!


	7. Meet the Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If lying to his mother in his letters proved to be difficult, then lying to the people he’d slowly begun to trust seemed near impossible. 

It had been two weeks since Spencer started working at the BAU, in that time he’d come to understand just how much this team functioned as a family. Dysfunctional, no doubt, but a family nonetheless. 

That first day was interesting, to say the least, he hadn’t expected anyone to really pay him much attention at all since he knew he was really selling the defenseless young agent part hoping they’d write him off at first.

He’d met with Gideon the Sunday before, trying to figure out what strategy to best play to keep them all as separate from himself as possible. They’d discussed multiple strategies but in the end, he decided the socially anxious academic role fit the best, he did have some experience in that department after all. 

No matter how much he prodded though, he couldn’t get Gideon to discuss what he knew about Spencer’s career. Not knowing how to handle Gideon was perhaps the most nerve-wracking and frustrating part of it all. It had been ingrained in him to always be the one with the edge, the one who  _ knew  _ their secrets and  _ played them  _ like a fiddle. This sudden switch of gears did not sit well with Reid at all. 

But then again, out of anyone that could have known about his past, he figured Gideon would be the one to guard it the best, the man had a poker face like none Spencer had seen before. 

Morgan was the big brother of the group, that much was apparent. He liked to ask how everyone’s day was going, bring the mood in the room up with jokes and hugs. He seemed to be especially concerned with Spencer, always making sure to ask at least twice if he needed anything at all. Reid got the impression that he’d discussed his file with Hotch, and they’d both tag-teamed to make sure Spencer was alright after looking at crime scene photos or dead bodies. 

He did have to admit Agent Hotchner was more than a little wary of his presence at first, almost like he could tell Spencer was more than his cover. But he made sure to lift the veil of doubt and suspicion from Hotchner’s eyes in the first case they worked together as a team, by spectacularly missing his target while on a chase and then promptly tripping on his feet landing on the ground and scraping his knees. The man had offered to give him some shooting lessons the next time he’d had to take the exam. 

If Morgan was the big brother, then Jareau “JJ” was the mother hen, always making sure everyone had food breaks during cases, and supplying Spencer with infinite amounts of caffeine, which was very much appreciated. She was also the one who asked him the most personal questions so far, but never interrogating, simply out of curiosity. For the first time, in a very long time, he felt he had someone who would listen without any judgment. A confidant in more ways than one. 

Garcia was the equivalent of a hyperactive toddler with incredibly lewd commentary (reserved for Morgan) running around the office. From the way she talked to the way she dressed and would play Disney songs loudly from her speakers after looking at particularly graphic crime scene photos. She had taken a liking to Reid as much as the others, in her own way. Which meant he’d gotten more baked cookies and brownies in the span of two weeks than he could eat in an entire month. 

Reid, for all that he tried to keep himself closed off, to only interact with them during work hours and not a moment afterwards, keep his professional barriers up. Found himself slowly but surely opening up to them all, this was what he’d always craved for. That feeling of belonging that came with having someone to rely on, a team, to watch his back and friends to come home to. 

It was hard, lying to them all. He thought it’d be easier, he thought his training had desensitized him enough to be able to not feel the guilt anymore, but he was wrong. In just a few short weeks these people had shown him what genuine human kindness felt like, and Reid, well, he wasn’t quite sure how to take it. 

If lying to his mother in his letters proved to be difficult, then lying to the people he’d slowly begun to trust seemed near impossible. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spencer's first impressions! What do you guys think?   
> I'm considering adding actual cases to this, but since it's not really a case-fic, I may use one of their old cases, from either S2 or S3, would that be something interesting to add? Yay or Nay?

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this first chapter! Let me know if you have any questions, comments, etc. 
> 
> I'm always happy to receive constructive criticism! 
> 
> More to come, see you soon my loves!


End file.
